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Known Problem: Application uses page file but has a memory leak. Of course getting rid of the memory leak would be ideal but as this is an application that is specific to our company and built for us we may have to live with the problem.

OS: Windows Server 2003 r2 Enterprise Edition

Question: Is it possiblle to clear the page file without rebooting? If our application needs to be restarted that would be ok, but from what I have seen... I think you must reboot.

Patrick
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1 Answers1

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No, "cleaning" the page file requires a reboot.

But you shouldn't need to clean the pagefile. Restarting the application will remove it from memory, and then that memory (including data swapped to the pagefile) can be reused.

Cleaning/wiping the page file is generally reserved for security or counter-forensics purposes, and has nothing to do with correcting or working around an application that leaks memory.

HopelessN00b
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  • re-read this after a few years... your answer was well said. Thanks for helping me 3 years ago! – Patrick May 04 '16 at 22:42